Quiz: Howstuffworks

Two Truths and a Lie: North American Geography

Daniel Yetman

Image: fstop123 / E+ / Getty Images

About This Quiz

Who doesn't love a good game of two truths and a lie? It's right up there with 'Never Have I Ever' and 'Truth or Dare'. We've wracked our brains to come up with 35 rounds that are going to put your North American geography knowledge to the test.

When you think about North America, what are the first countries you think of? Unless you live in the Caribbean yourself, you probably think about America, Canada, and Mexico. While these three countries make up the majority of North America's landmass and population, there are 20 more countries in Central America and the Caribbean with rich histories of their own.

There are over 7,000 islands in the Caribbean, but less than 2 percent of them are occupied. Many of these islands are still controlled by European nations. Bermuda is controlled by England, Guadeloupe is controlled by France, and Aruba is controlled by ... ? If you already knew that it's part of the Netherlands, you have a chance at acing this quiz. If you're just learning that now, stick around and you might learn a few nuggets of trivia you can use to impress your friends.

Alright, here's your three facts: Canada is North America's biggest country, America is the most populated and it's not time to get started. Can you spot the lie?

How well do you know the Great White North? Can you spot the lie?

Canada has 10 provinces.

Canada's geographically biggest province is Manitoba.

Niagara Falls borders the province of Ontario.

Canada's geographically largest province is Quebec. It's also the part of Canada that's mostly French. The biggest city in the region has a metro population of about 4 million people.

Believe it or not, one of these is a lie. Which one?

Aruba is part of North America.

Jamaica is part of North America.

The Bahamas is in North America.

Aruba is an island controlled by the Netherlands that's just north of Venezuela and south of the Dominican Republic. While most of the island countries are part of North America, Aruba is one of the few that is in South America.

How well does your river knowledge flow? Can you spot the lie?

The Mississippi is the longest river in America.

The Rio Grande is the longest river in Mexico.

The Yukon River is the longest river in Canada.

The Mississippi is undoubtedly the most famous river in North America, but it's actually not the longest. The longest river is the Missouri, which flows into the Mississippi. The Missouri river is roughly 2,565 miles long.

Two of these are true, but which one isn't?

All five Great Lakes border Canada.

All five Great Lakes border America.

Canada borders three oceans.

One of the Great Lakes doesn't touch Canadian soil. Can you guess which one? Lake Michigan is fully enclosed by America. The other four lakes are shared between the two countries.

How well do you know your state capitals? Which one is a lie?

Dover is the capital of Colorado.

Albany is the capital of New York.

Portland is the capital of Oregon.

Portland may be the biggest city in Portland, but it's not the capital. That title belongs to Salem. You may immediately have images of the Salem Witch Trials in your head, but those actually took place in Massachusetts.

How well do you know your Canadian provinces? Can you spot the fib?

Toronto is the capital of Ontario.

Quebec City is the capital of Quebec.

Vancouver is the capital of British Columbia.

Vancouver is the third biggest city in Canada, but it's actually not the capital of Canada's most western province. That title belongs to the much smaller community of Victoria, which is on Vancouver island.

Can you tell us which of these is a lie?

Mexico borders three countries.

The population of Mexico is over 150 million.

Mexico's capital is Mexico City.

Mexico is one of the biggest countries in the world, but its population is closer to 112 million than 150 million. Still, its population is almost three times greater than Canada's and ranks 10th in the world.

Even if you have trouble believing it, one of these is a lie. Which one?

Reno, Nevada is east of Los Angeles.

Only 2% of the islands in the Caribbean are inhabited.

Canada has 9% of the world's lakes.

Believe it or not, Reno is actually west of Los Angeles. How's that possible? The southern coastline of California cuts in just far enough that northern Nevada is further west than southern California.

All these are true ... except for one. Which one?

There are 23 countries in North America.

New York is the biggest North American city.

Canada is the largest country in North America by landmass.

New York is the second biggest city in North America. The biggest city is Mexico City, which has a metro population about a million people larger than New York (close to 21 million in total).

We're pulling your leg with one of these. Which one?

North America is the second-largest continent.

No North American country is landlocked.

North America borders three oceans.

North America is actually the third-largest continent. Can you name which two are larger? Both Africa and Asia have a larger total landmass. Africa often looks smaller than North America on maps because of the way flat maps are distorted.

Can you spot our fib?

The Bering Strait separates North America from Asia.

Panama connects North America to South America.

At least one North American island belongs to Australia.

There are no islands in the Caribbean owned by Australia, but there are several owned by European nations. Guadeloupe, Martinique and Saint Martin are a few of the islands owned by France. Aruba, Curacao, and Sint Maarten are among countries ruled by the Netherlands.

Which of these statements doesn't seem quite true?

French is the second most common North American language.

America is geographically the second-largest country in North America.

Cree is the most common indigenous language in Canada.

French is the third most commonly spoken language in North America. Can you guess the second? Behind English's 317 million speakers, Spanish has the second most speakers with 121 million.

Can you spot the lie among these three facts?

Canada has the longest coastline in the world.

Canada contains the most freshwater of any country.

Mexico contains the third-largest mountain in the world.

Mexico has several peaks that are among the highest in the world. However, Mexico's highest point is Pico de Orizaba at 18,491ft, which makes it the third-highest peak in North America not the third-highest in the world.

America and Canada are home to some of the world's tallest buildings. But which of these isn't factual?

The CN Tower (Toronto is the tallest building in North America.

Willis Tower is the second-tallest building in America.

The Empire State Building is the tallest in America.

The Empire State Building might be one of the most well-known skyscrapers in the world but its not even the tallest in America. The John Hancock Center, Willis Tower and One World Trade Center all rank higher.

Which of these train facts did we stretch the truth about?

Canada, America and Mexico all have at least one city with metro train.

Santo Domingo has a metro train service.

Havana has a metro train service.

If you visit Havana, Cuba, you can take a train to other communities in Cuba, but there's no metro train system. The largest metro train system in the Caribbean belongs to Santo Domingo.

Can you name the lie among these Caribbean facts?

There are more than 7000 islands in the Caribbean.

The Bahamas is made up of one island.

The official language of Guadeloupe is French.

The Bahamas is actually an archipelago, which means that it consists of a series of islands. There are more than 700 islands that make up the country. The capital, Nassau, is located on the island of New Providence.

Two of these water facts are true. But which one isn't?

The Gulf of California, Gulf of Alaska, and Gulf of Mexico all border America.

Hudson Bay is located in northern Canada.

The Great Lakes are between Canada and America.

If you had to guess which of these three bodies of water don't border America, you'd probably guess the Gulf of Mexico. However, the Gulf of California is actually located between mainland and the Baja regions of Mexico.

Do you know your border crossings well enough to tell us which of these we made up?

San-Diego/Tijuana is a border crossing.

Detroit/Windsor is a border crossing.

Vancouver/Montana is a border crossing.

The Canadian city of Vancouver borders on Washington State. It's less than a three-hour drive from Vancouver to Seattle. You can also take a ferry from the Canadian city Victoria to get to Seattle.

Can you recognize the lie without looking at a map?

California has the longest American coastline.

There are more people in California than Canada.

America borders three oceans.

When answering American geography questions, it would be wise not to forget about Alaska. Not only does Alaska border the Arctic and Pacific oceans, but it also has the longest coastline of any state.

Can you spot the lie among these facts?

Florida is on average the hottest American state.

Alaska is the coldest state on average.

Texas is on average one of the five hottest states.

If you take a 12-month average of the temperature of all the states in America, Hawaii is the hottest with an average temperature of 71.6 degrees. Florida is number two with an average of 70.7.

Which of these temperature facts did we fabricate?

Winnipeg is the coldest city in Canada in the winter.

Vancouver is warmer in the winter than many northern American cities.

Anchorage, Alaska, is colder than Winnipeg in the winter.

Anchorage may be farther north than most major Canadian cities, however, its proximity to the ocean gives it a more mild climate. Winnipeg, Edmonton, Regina and Saskatoon are among the Canadian cities that regularly see temperatures under -40F and -40C.

Which of these population statistics isn't true?

New York City (metro) has a larger population than all but three states.

Rhode Island has the smallest population of the 50 states.

California has more people than Canada.

Rhode Island is the smallest geographic state, but there are six states with a smaller population including Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Delaware.

Do you have the time to spot this timezone lie?

The time difference between Hawaii and New York is six hours in the summer.

The time difference between the most eastern and western point in Canada is five hours in the summer.

Toronto and New York City are in the same time zone.

The time difference across Canada is actually 4.5 hours thanks to Newfoundland. The most eastern time zone in American is Eastern Standard Time. In Canada Atlantic Standard Time and Newfoundland Standard Time are both farther east.

How well do you know your North American coordinates? Can you spot the lie?

The Canadian city Windsor is farther south than Seattle.

San Diego is east of Los Angeles.

San Antonio is the southernmost American city with a population over 250,000.

You may think that San Antonio is near the southern tip of America, but if you spin the globe you'll see that Honolulu dips down as the southernmost major city in America. If you're curious what the northernmost would be, that title belongs to Anchorage.

Can you tell us which of these isn't true?

There are over 68 languages recognized in Mexico.

The Chihuahua originates from Belize.

Texas used to be part of Mexico.

You might best recognize the Chihuahua species of dog from Taco Bell posters. It actually originates from Mexico. It's thought that it descends from another species of dog known as the Techichi.

One of these isn't true. Which one?

The largest city Florida is not the capital.

The largest city in Oregon is not the capital.

The largest city in Colorado is not the capital.

Being the largest city in a state doesn't necessarily make it the capital. But in Colorado, Denver is both the most populous city and the capital. Denver has a population of about 600,000.

Do you know these countries well enough to spot the lie?

Los Angeles is the second-biggest American city.

Vancouver is the second-largest Canadian city.

Guadalajara is the second-biggest Mexican city.

Vancouver is actually the third-biggest city in Canada. The second-biggest behind Toronto is Montreal. Montreal is most well-known for being the largest French city in North America.

Which one of these driving ETAs isn't quite right?

Los Angeles to New York City is about a 41-hour drive.

New York to Boston is about a 7-hour drive.

Boston to Chicago is about a 15-hour drive.

The only way driving from New York to Boston is going to take seven hours is if you get stuck in traffic. If you make good time, you might be able to make the drive in under 3.5 hours.

Which of these timezone facts isn't correct?

Mountain Standard Time is the most Western Canadian time zone.

Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time is the most western American time zone.

Newfoundland Standard Time is the most eastern Canadian time zone.

The most western time zone in Canada is Pacific Standard Time. The biggest Canadian city in this time zone is Vancouver. The biggest Canadian city in the Mountain Standard Time zone is Calgary.

Is your lake knowledge good enough to spot this less than factual statement?

Lake Superior is the largest of the five Great Lakes.

Lake Ontario is the smallest of the Great Lakes.

Great Slave Lake is one of the Great Lakes.

Although Great Slave lake is comparable to the Great Lakes in size, it's not in the same water formation. The five Great Lakes include Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario and Lake Michigan.

Which of these is a lie? Note: We're considering Greenland part of Europe.

Baffin Island is the biggest island in North America.

Cuba is the largest North American island.

None of the top 10 largest islands in North America are in America.

Cuba is one of the biggest islands in North America. However, it's not the largest. The sparsely populated Baffin Island in Northern Canada is the biggest. The Canadian province of Newfoundland also has a larger landmass than Cuba.

Do you know your states and provinces well enough to find our lie?

Canada has 10 provinces and 3 territories.

American has 50 states and 7 inhabited territories.

Mexico has 31 states.

If you count the stars on the American flag, you'll count one for each of the 50 states. However, America only has five territories, not seven. These are American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands.

Can you spot the lie among these three facts?

There are 12 states that have points further south than the northernmost point of Mexico.

Detroit borders the Canadian city of Windsor.

Nine percent of Canada is covered in lakes.

There are only 11 states that are south of the Mexico border. These states are Louisiana, Texas, California, Georgia, Alabama, Arizona, New Mexico, Hawaii, Mississippi, Florida and South Carolina.

Can you spot this temperature-related lie?

The hottest American temperature ever recorded was 134 degrees in Death Valley.

The coldest temperature ever recorded was -65 degrees in Montana.

The deepest American lake is found in Oregon.

As awful as it would be to be caught in -65-degree weather, there was an even colder day recorded in Prospect Creek, Alaska. In 1971, one day in January was measured at -80 degrees Fahrenheit.

Do you know enough about America's languages to spot the lie?

The official language of the U.S. at a federal level is English.

Spanish is the second most common language in the United States.

Chinese (all dialects) is the third most common American language.

Although it's undeniable that English is the most common language in the United States, it hasn't been named the official language at a federal level. About 231 million people in America speak English at home as their primary language.

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